Special Resource Study

Site Description

Locational Context
New Bedford, a city of about 100,000 people, is located on the southeastern coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River empties into Buzzard's Bay. Map 1 shows its regional setting.

Map 1: Regional Setting

The broad harbor that separates New Bedford from the Town of Fairhaven is the most prominent natural feature of the area. The harbor is the home port of a contemporary fishing fleet, which for eight of the last ten years has brought in the most valuable catch of any United States port. Historically, that same harbor was the whaling capital of the world.

In addition to its maritime industries, New Bedford also built impressive land-based industries in the late nineteenth century. Thus the city has a broad array of multi-story brick mill buildings which served the textile, glass making, and brass industries. These building complexes totalling some 18 million square feet, many of which are now vacant, are located in a north-south direction adjacent to the river. Dense residential neighborhoods of diverse ethnic groups, punctuated by the tall spires of neighborhood churches, surround these industrial facilities.

New Bedford has always attracted and maintained a population of unusual ethnic diversity. The whaling industry drew seamen (and a few women) from free Africa, Ireland, Portugal, and the Portuguese Islands of Madeira, the Azores, and Cape Verde. Later immigrants, some attracted to whaling and others to the textile mills, came from France, Canada, Poland, Germany, Russia, Italy, Syria, Spain, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Scotland, and Albania. Their descendants have remained in New Bedford partly because of its well-deserved reputation for tolerance.

The city's downtown sits on a sloping hill overlooking the waterfront. The historic waterfront district occupies an area between the city's business core and the edge of the harbor. This historic area with its nineteenth century buildings, museums, and setting that survive from its peak as a whaling capital is the subject of this study. Map 2 shows the context of the study area.

Map 2: Study Area Context

The city is served by Interstate 195 which connects to Providence, Rhode Island (about 30 miles to the west) and Cape Cod (about 20 miles to the east). New Bedford is also connected to Boston (about 50 miles north) by limited access, state highway Routes 140 and 24.

Study Area
The study area for this project centers on several of the National Register districts and accompanying areas which were the focus of New Bedford's whaling industry. It consists of the following components: 1) the National Historic Landmark District (coterminous with the New Bedford Historic District) which was the location of and the center of commerce for the whaling industry; 2) the Central New Bedford National Register District which encompasses the downtown and many of the current and historic civic buildings; 3) the Merrill's Wharf National Register District, a one acre district on the waterfront which contains original historic buildings and pier structures; and 4) the central waterfront and wharves from Merrill's Wharf up to just south of the Route 6 bridge.

These historic districts and the waterfront contain the largest concentration of the historic resources that tell the story of whaling and New Bedford's relationship to it. The study area is vital to the understanding of the historic context and the development of the whaling industry and the rich resources that are still extant in New Bedford.

The study area can be understood by examining Map 3, which shows the existing National Register Districts. The study area consists of National Register Districts One, Two, and Four plus the waterfront from District Four to Route 6 (but excluding Fish Island).

Map 3: Existing New Bedford National Register Districts Major Characteristics and Features
The study area and the adjacent National Register Districts, shown on Map 3, embody the historical and cultural resources associated with New Bedford's role as the whaling capital of the world during the early to mid-nineteenth century.

The area includes the following resources and features: a broad array of business, residential and institutional structures exemplifying the Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and Victorian styles of architecture; museums, historical exhibits, and records which convey the importance, diversity, and financial power of the whaling era; a functioning area of the city which still serves the material (ships chandleries and supply houses) and social needs (restaurants, clubs and taverns) of those who make their living from the sea; and businesses and civic institutions which serve the contemporary needs of the broader community.

The study area also includes the waterfront, an operating contemporary port for a fleet of some 300+ seagoing ships. Fishing trawlers and scallopers bring in an annual catch that has been the most valuable of any United States port for eight of the last ten years. The National Historic Landmark Schooner ERNESTINA, berthed on the waterfront, is another feature of the study area. ERNESTINA, built in 1894 in Essex, Massachusetts and the oldest Grand Banks fishing schooner in existence today, transported immigrants from the Cape Verde Islands to New Bedford.

There are other cultural resources outside of the study area which also contribute to a broad understanding and appreciation for the city's development during the whaling era. These include:

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum, a whaling era home and its grounds open to the public; the Buttonwood Park (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted) and Zoo; Palmer's Island where an historic light house was located; Fort Taber, an historic fort located at the southern tip of New Bedford on Buzzard's Bay; and the Town of Fairhaven, located across the harbor from New Bedford and the site of shipyards, the Manjiro Trail, and Fort Phoenix.

Back to Publications Page | Resource Study Contents | Previous Page | Next Page